Like a couple of wily outlaws, Daizy and Hank slipped away in the wake of Hurricane Ike. Hank was found quickly, but Daizy eluded capture for nearly 10 months.

By the time she was returned from her escape, she was 14 pounds lighter and covered in ticks and fleas.

“We were telling the kids all the time that if there's any dog out there that is going to make it on its own, it's Daizy,” recalls Joe Bauer, whose family owns the two Blue Lacy game dogs.

“It's an awesome story,” adds Leanne LaRocca, who played a key role in this tail-wagging dog tale.

The story begins last September, when Ike blew down Joe and Kathy Bauer's backyard fence. The Clear Lake couple decided to board their animals while repairs were made, but the dogs got away from the kennel before the job was finished.

Volunteer search parties, including LaRocca and her roommate, Teresa Reich, combed the area. Once Hank was back, Joe Bauer took him out for long walks in search of the other dog.

On the evening of July 16, LaRocca spotted a yellow dog near her home, and she thought about the Bauers' lost pet. She tried to follow with her car but lost sight in the dark.

Three days later, the same dog came down the sidewalk. She and Reich jumped in a car and got close enough to see its face.

“She happened to look up,” says LaRocca. “ ... It was Daizy.”

Again, the dog dashed away, back “to the place where she was living in the back with all the brush.”

Apparently, Daizy had been hiding out in an overgrown easement around electrical towers about a mile from the kennel.

LaRocca alerted the Bauers.

Last Thursday, just before midnight, the Bauers caught sight of Daizy for themselves. When Kathy called her name, the dog hesitated and trotted away. Kathy followed and continued to call.

“Here it is 11:30 at night and I'm in the middle of the street,” Kathy Bauer says, “and I don't know how many people I'm waking up, but I really don't care.”

She whistled, and Daizy came running to her.

Considering all she'd been through, the pet was in good shape after spending most of a year on the run, according to the veterinarian who examined her Friday.

LaRocca and Reich are cast as heroes in the adventure.

“I told Mrs. Bauer things happen for a reason,” says LaRocca. “And I don't know why me and that morning, but I was supposed to see her and this brought Daizy home. For me to be part of this is just incredible. I'll never forget this for the rest of my life.”